Luxembourg

• mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys;
• uplands to slightly mountainous in the north;
• steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast

mean elevation:

325 m

elevation extremes:

133 m lowest point: Moselle River; 559 highest point: Buurgplaatz

• air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland;
• unsustainable patterns of consumption (transport, energy, recreation, space) threaten biodiversity and landscapes

noun:

Luxembourger(s)

adjective:

Luxembourg

0-14 years:

16.74% (male 52,243 /female 49,183)

15-24 years:

12.06% (male 37,391 /female 35,650)

25-54 years:

44.18% (male 137,381 /female 130,252)

55-64 years:

11.9% (male 36,670 /female 35,442)

65 years and over:

15.11% (male 41,002 /female 50,550) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

43.6 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

23.5 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

20.1 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

5 (2015 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

conventional short form:

Luxembourg

local long form:

Grand Duche de Luxembourg

local short form:

Luxembourg

etymology:

from the Celtic "lucilem" (little) and the German "burg" (castle or fortress) to produce the meaning of the "little castle"

name:

Luxembourg

geographic coordinates:

49 36 N, 6 07 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• National Day (Birthday of Grand Duke HENRI), 23 June;
• note - this date of birth is not the true date of birth for any of the Royals, but the national festivities were shifted in 1962 to allow observance during a more favorable time of year

history:

previous 1842 (heavily amended 1848, 1856); latest effective 17 October 1868 (2016)

amendments:

• proposed by the Chamber of Deputies or by the monarch to the Chamber;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Chamber in two successive readings three months apart;
• a referendum can be substituted for the second reading if approved by more than one-quarter of the Chamber members or by 25,000 valid voters;
• adoption by referendum requires a majority of all valid voters;
• amended many times, last in 2009 (2016)

highest courts:

Supreme Court of Justice includes Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation (consists of 27 judges on 9 benches); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)

judge selection and term of office:

judges of both courts appointed by the monarch for life

subordinate courts:

Court of Accounts; district and local tribunals and courts

chief of state:

Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Xavier BETTEL (since 4 December 2013);
• Deputy Prime Minister Etienne SCHNEIDER (since 4 December 2013);
• Deputy Prime Minister Felix BRAZ (since 5 December 2018)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• following elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch;
• deputy prime minister appointed by the monarch;
• prime minister and deputy prime minister are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies

description:

• unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms);
• note - a 21-member Council of State appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies

elections:

last held on 14 October 2018 (next to be held by October 2023)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - CSV 28.3%, LSAP 17.6%, DP 16.9%, Green Party 15.1%, ADR 8.3%, Pirate Party 6.4%, The Left 5.5%, other 1.9%;
• seats by party - CSV 21, DP 12, LSAP 10, Green Party 9, ADR 4, Pirate Party 2, The Left 2;
• composition - men 46, women 14, percent of women 23.3%

chief of mission:

Ambassador Sylvie LUCAS (since 16 September 2016)

chancery:

2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-4171

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-8270

consulate(s) general:

New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador James Randolph "Randy" EVANS (since 19 June 2018)

embassy:

22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City

mailing address:

Unit 3560, APO-AE 09126-3560 (official mail)

telephone:

[352] 46-01-23 00

FAX:

[352] 46-14-01

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue;
• similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter;
• the coloring is derived from the Grand Duke's coat of arms (a red lion on a white and blue striped field)

name:

"Ons Heemecht" (Our Motherland); "De Wilhelmus" (The William)

lyrics/music:

Michel LENTZ/Jean-Antoine ZINNEN; Nikolaus WELTER/unknown

note: "Ons Heemecht," adopted 1864, is the national anthem, while "De Wilhelmus," adopted 1919, serves as a royal anthem for use when members of the grand ducal family enter or exit a ceremony in Luxembourg

agriculture:

1.1%

industry:

20%

services:

78.9% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

23.8% (2000)

highest 10%:

23.8% (2000)

general assessment:

• highly developed, completely automated and efficient system;
• by 2020 the government’s program is to provide a 1Gb/s service to all citizens, and to make Luxembourg the first fully fibred country in Europe;
• new law requiring SIM cards be registered has slowed down growth for mobile subscribers;
• 5G launch by 2020 (2017)

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity about 46 per 100 persons;
• nationwide mobile-cellular telephone system with market for mobile-cellular phones virtually saturated with 134 per 100 mobile-cellular (2017)

international:

country code - 352 (2016)

• Luxembourg has a long tradition of operating radio and TV services for pan-European audiences and is home to Europe's largest privately owned broadcast media group, the RTL Group, which operates 46 TV stations and 29 radio stations in Europe;
• also home to Europe's largest satellite operator, Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES);
• domestically, the RTL Group operates TV and radio networks;
• other domestic private radio and TV operators and French and German stations available;
• satellite and cable TV services available (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 119 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,830,972 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

6,309,473,324 mt-km (2015)

total:

275 km (2014)

standard gauge:

275 km 1.435-m gauge (275 km electrified) (2014)

total:

2,899 km (2011)

paved:

2,899 km (includes 152 km of expressways) (2011)

• 18-24 years of age for male and female voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• Luxembourg citizen or EU citizen with 3-year residence in Luxembourg (2017)